9 Impressive Young Record-Breakers

Find out about teens (and tots!) who accomplished historical feats

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When 16-year-old Abby Sunderland attempted to claim the record for youngest person to sail around the world earlier this year, she was forced to abandon her ship due to treacherous waters. She returned home safely, but the ordeal created a controversy, with skeptics questioning the safety of pursuing "The Youngest" records and supporters cheering the youngster's passion. But Sunderland wasn't the first teen in history with big dreams. With help from the World Records Academy we rounded up the nine most impressive under-18 record-breakers, with feats ranging from downright daring—like scaling Mount Everest—to impressively intellectual—like becoming the youngest chess Grandmaster.

On May 15, 2010—just shy of her 17th birthday—Australian Jessica Watson arrived home after a 210-day sail around the world. She is the youngest person ever to complete the unassisted solo trip, during which she sailed 23,000 nautical miles amid storms and rough waters that knocked her pink boat on its side seven times. Her first order of business after setting foot on dry land? Practicing to get her driver's license. Photo by Getty Images

Jack Nicklaus who? At a 2010 Easter Pairs competition at the Cambridge Lakes golf course in the UK, 5-year-old Eleanor Gamble sunk an 86-yard hole-in-one. At the time, the youngest person on record to score a shot like that was an 8-year-old from the U.S. Gamble's 10-year-old brother was also competing that day, and according to their father, was "a little bit disgruntled, but he's happy for Elle." Photo by iStockphoto

When it comes to record-breaking, Marjorie Gestring dove right in. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the 13-year-old Californian became the youngest person to win a gold medal when she took first place in the women's springboard competition. Photo by AFP/Getty Images

At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the then-17-year-old Pelé (Edson Arantes Do Nascimento) become the youngest person to score a World Cup goal in the quarter-finals battle between Brazil and Wales. He also led his team to victory: Brazil went on to win the entire tournament, the first of five World Cup wins for the South American country. Photo by Getty Images

In May 2010, 13-year-old Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. Romero and his team scaled the mountain's 29,035 feet to the top from the Chinese side. The feat is part of Romero's goal to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents—in addition to Everest, he's already conquered Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua, Denali and Carstensz Pyramid. Photo by AFP/Getty Images

While most 16-year-olds celebrate their birthday by cruising solo in their parents' car, Jonathan Strickland fêted in a more adventurous way. In March 2010, the teen set the world record for the youngest solo pilot to fly six different aircrafts and a helicopter in the same day. The young pilot also holds the record for being the youngest black pilot to solo an airplane and a helicopter on the same day, the youngest black pilot to fly a helicopter internationally and the youngest black pilot to fly a helicopter on an international round-trip. Photo by iStockphoto

Talk about a politician that kids can relate to: In February 2010, 5-year-old Razvan Gogan from Romania acted as President and signed (under the supervision of elected President Traian Basescu) a Presidential Decree for children's rights. The event was set up by a Romanian news channel, and for the whole day, Gogan was the special guest of President Basescu and participated in all the public activities at Cotroceni Presidential palace. Photo by World Records Academy

Utah's Johnny Collinson holds the record that Jordan Romero is after (see above). When the champion freestyle skier was 17, he became the youngest person to scale the seven continents' tallest peaks (a.k.a. the Seven Summits), including Antarctica's Vinso Massif, which Romero has yet to climb. Photo courtesy of JohnnyCollinson.com

Sergey Karjakin of the Ukraine learned to play chess when he was 5 years old and became eligible for the title of Grandmaster—the highest title a chess player can attain––when he was just 12 years old. According to his mom, at the age of 6 Karjakin declared: "I can't live without playing chess." Photo by iStockphoto